Moving toward Personalized Medicine in the Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program: A Pilot Study on the Evaluation of Treatment Responses in Taiwan
Table 1
Patient characteristics of responders and nonresponders to the Taiwan methadone maintenance treatment program (MMTP) based on urine morphine screen tests ().
Variables
Responders ()
Nonresponders ()
value
Age, yr (SD)
39.1 (7.3)
39.6 (7.0)
0.67
Weight, kg (SD)
71.0 (14.5)
68.0 (12.1)
0.14
Gender, (%)
Male
50 (32.1)
106 (67.9)
0.03*
Education, (%)
Below high school
39 (36.4)
68 (63.6)
0.57
High school or above
23 (32.4)
48 (67.6)
Marital status, (%)
Married or living with partner
14 (31.1)
31 (68.9)
0.65
Never married
36 (37.5)
60 (62.5)
Divorced/widowed
11 (30.6)
25 (69.4)
Dose, mg (SD)
51.6 (30.8)
50.4 (30.5)
0.78
R,S-Methadone, ng/mL (SD)
172.9 (134.9)
172.9 (158.8)
0.99
R-Methadone, ng/mL (SD)
92.9 (66.5)
92.9 (86.3)
0.99
S-Methadone, ng/mL (SD)
81.2 (70.6)
82.3 (74.8)
0.92
Substance use history, (%)
Tobacco
55 (36.7)
95 (63.3)
0.23
Alcohol
26 (44.8)
32 (55.2)
0.03*
Betel nut
21 (43.8)
27 (56.3)
0.15
Current amphetamine use, (%)
10 (27.1)
27 (72.9)
0.52
Treatment duration, mo (SD)
19.4 (13.9)
17.4 (13.9)
0.37
Heroin use history, yr (SD)
7.8 (5.7)
8.5 (5.6)
0.48
HBV, (%)
13 (39.4)
20 (60.6)
0.55
HCV, (%)
60 (37.5)
100 (62.5)
0.03*
Pain disorders, (%)
25 (39.1)
39 (60.9)
0.37
Depression, (%)
11 (44.0)
14 (56.0)
0.29
Anxiety, (%)
15 (46.9)
17 (53.1)
0.11
Psychiatric disordersa, (%)
15 (57.6)
11 (42.3)
0.01*
Methadone-drug interaction
(1) Increase methadone metabolism, (%)
17 (46.0)
20 (54.0)
0.11
(2) Decrease methadone metabolism, (%)
9 (36.0)
16 (64.0)
0.89
(3) Benzodiazepines (BZD) or non-BZD, (%)
18 (56.2)
14 (43.8)
0.007*
(4) Antipsychotic drugs, (%)
2 (28.6)
5 (71.4)
0.72
(5) Opioid-related drugs, (%)
12 (40.0)
18 (60.0)
0.53
(6) Antidepressive drugs, (%)
5 (50.0)
5 (50.0)
0.32
(7) QT prolongation, (%)
7 (35.0)
13 (65.0)
0.98
Psychiatric disorders included schizophrenic disorders, hallucinosis, paranoia, panic disorders, and neurotic disorders.
*Statistical significance set at ; comparisons were performed by the Mann-Whitney U test, t-test, Chi-square test, or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate.
